Agriculture A Saga of Success From a nation dependent on food imports to feed its population, India today is not only self-sufficient in grain production, but also has a substantial reserve. The progress made in agriculture has been one of the biggest success stories of free India. Agriculture and allied activities constitute the single largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product and provide the means of livelihood to about two-thirds of the work force in the country. This increase in agricultural production has been brought about by bringing additional area under cultivation, extension of irrigation facilities, the use of improved high yielding variety of seeds, better techniques evolved through agricultural research, water management, and plant protection through judicious use of fertilizers, pesticides and cropping practices. Crops India is a major producer and consumer of a wide range of agricultural, horticultural and fish and other products. Agriculture sector provides about 25 per cent of GDP, 64 per cent employment, and accounts for 18 per cent of India ’s exports. The post liberalization era has seen some large-scale changes including relaxation of government regulations of companies in the processed food industry. It has also brought introduction of corporate farming in some states, bringing large-scale benefits to small farmers. Net-cropped area is around 142 million hectares, which is approximately 45 per cent of the total geographical area of 329 million hectares. India produces approximately 200 million tonnes of food grains every year. India ranks first in the world in production of milk, tea and sugarcane. It is the second largest producer of fruits, vegetables, rice, wheat and groundnut and is among the top five producers of coffee, spices, cereals and oilseeds. The National Agriculture Policy seeks to tap the growth potential of Indian agriculture and attain a growth rate in excess of 4 per cent per annum in the agriculture sector. Irrigation India ’s success in agriculture production would not have fructified without commensurate developments in irrigation. The ultimate irrigation potential has been assessed at 139.89 million hectares of which 68 percent has been harnessed so far. Of the 142.6 million hectares of net cultivated area, 57 million hectares (40 percent) only is irrigated. The rest (60 percent, or 85.6 million hectares) is rain fed. Since irrigation is out of reach of a very large area in the country, focus is now shifting to watershed management and rainwater harvesting. Fertilizers Optimum fertilizer application plays a key role in improving the productivity of various crops. It is a critical component of the strategy for self-sufficiency in food grains to feed a rapidly growing population. Concerted efforts in this direction have resulted in a substantial increase in agricultural production and productivity, from a modest level of 52 million tonnes in 1951-52, to 182.57 million tonnes in 2002-03. Because of poor monsoon in some areas, this was less than the previous year ’s production. But the increased fertilizer consumption has assured a more or less sustained improvement in food grain production in the country. Fisheries Fisheries play an important role in socio-economic development of the country, generating employment and income and stimulating growth of new subsidiary industries. It is also a source of cheap and nutritious source of food and an important foreign exchange earner. The introduction of mechanized boats and Deep Sea fishing vessels has strategically shifted Indian fishing from traditional to modern methods, with yields reaching six million tonnes, slightly more than half of which from inland sources, including aquaculture. The export earning is about $1.4 billion. Food Processing India is the world ’s second largest producer of food next to China, and has the potential of being the biggest with the food and agricultural sector contributing around a quarter of India ’s GDP. The total food production in India is likely to double in the next ten years and there is an opportunity for large investments in food and food processing technologies, skills and equipment, especially in areas of canning, dairy and food processing, specialty processing, packaging, frozen food/refrigeration and thermo processing. Fruits and vegetables, fisheries, milk and milk products, meat and poultry, packaged/convenience foods, alcoholic beverages and soft drinks and grains are important sub-sectors of the food processing industry. Health food and health food supplements is another rapidly rising segment of this industry which is gaining vast popularity amongst the health conscious. The Food Processing industry in India has been accorded high priority by the Government of India. According to a recent study, the turnover of the total food market is approximately Rs.2500 billion/$55.5 billion out of which value-added food products comprise Rs.800 billion/$17.7 billion. Oilseeds India is one of the largest producers of oilseeds in the world. The oilseeds area and output is concentrated in the central and southern parts of India. The nine major oilseeds cultivated in India are groundnut, mustard/rapeseed, sesame, safflower, linseed, niger seed, castorseed, soyabean and sunflower. Coconut is the most important source of edible oil amongst plantation crops, while in non-conventional oils, rice bran oil and cottonseed oil are the most important. Groundnut, soyabean and mustard together contribute about 85 percent of the country ’s oilseeds production. Agricultural Research From food deficit to food surplus with Green Revolution. This dramatic transformation of India would have been impossible without the contribution of hardworking farmers and agriculture scientists. The apex body for education, research and extension education in the field of agriculture, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), played a key role in the rapid transfer of farm technology from the laboratory to the land. India is now poised to launch Green Revolution II with an allocation of Rs.500 billion/$11.11 billion. The ICAR discharges its responsibilities through 43 research institutes, four national research bureaus, 20 national research centers, nine project directorates, 70 all-India coordinated research projects, and 109 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (farm science centers).The ICAR also gives guidance to the 26 Agricultural Universities and four National Research Institutes. Drinking water The government has adopted a strategy to provide drinking water to all rural habitation within five years. An investment of Rs 400 billion (about $9 billion) has been made in the water supply sector so far. Despite this, in June 2003 the number of rural habitations not covered by drinking water provision was 12,299 and another 99,477 were partially covered. But 99 percent of rural habitations in the country have access to drinking water facility.